Why cats have been BANNED from going outside by Aussie council

Another Australian council is set to ban outdoor cats in public area with massive fines of up to $5,000 for owners who fail to control their pets .

If it passes, the City of South Perth 's Cats Local Law 2024 will see cats banned from 27 areas, including parks, bushland, lakes and even a golf course.

The clampdown follows ongoing bad news about what Australia's five million domestic cats and three million strays get up, often at night.

Cats kill a shocking 390million animals, reptiles and birds every year and have wiped out 27 native animals, from the pig-footed bandicoot to the desert kangaroo rat.

A South Perth Council report identified Neil McDougall Park, Manning Bushland, Millers Pool, lakes in Sir James Mitchell Park, Curtin Primary School Bushland and Collier Park Golf Course as sensitive wildlife areas that need protection from cats.

Cats found in them will be seized and removed under the new law, with their owners facing eye-watering fines.

Owners who breach the law, by allowing their cat to be in a prohibited area could be fined up to $5,000 and another $500 per day for ongoing offences.

Other Western Australia councils such as Canning, Kalamunda, Fremantle and Bassendean already have cat-prohibited areas.

Attempts by some councils to ban cats from all public areas were rejected by the WA Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, so South Perth is not trying to go that far.

'The restriction in movement of cats within a district and the definition of nuisance are known to be areas of concern for the committee,' a council report said.

'While it may be the desire of council and the community to restrict cats in ways that are considered appropriate to protect wildlife, the city is limited in its local law.'

The City of Bayswater, also in Perth, is set to release its proposed Keeping and Control of Cats Amendment Local Law 2024 for public comment.

The law has gone through several versions after the city initially tried a couple of years ago to include a clause to ban uncontrolled cats from public areas.

It has now adopted part of the Shire of Northam's 2019 cat law, which requires owners to ensure their cat is under 'effective control' in a public place.

Earlier this year, there were calls for a nationwide ban to be imposed on cat owners that could save the nation billions of dollars.

The rules would see pet cats banned from going outdoors and owners slapped with hefty fines if they don't keep them indoors permanently.

Some councils, along with the whole of the ACT already impose such bans, while others, such as Geelong and the City of Melbourne, are in the process of doing so.

But there are fresh calls to impose a blanket ban nationally, and a survey revealed most Australians would support it .

A survey published by the Biodiversity Council in March this year found just one in 12 people, or eight per cent of the population, opposed such a ban.

Along with saving millions of native animals that domestic and feral cats would otherwise kill each year, the ban could also reduce the impact of cat diseases transmitted to humans, which costs the economy an estimated $6billion a year.